anchor dennis richmond began our coverage of the pope's arrival in the united states on october 1, 1979. >> reporter: several hundred dignitaries are at hand with a mass that over 1 million people are supposed to attend. porter attended for president carter. tip o'neil bowed to kiss the pope's king as did ted kennedy. after mr. carter's brief welcome, the pope ended with an apology for not being able to greet with everyone. and ended with the singing of the national anthem. >> it is not possible for me to enter into every home. to greet personally every man and woman, to caress every child in who's eyes is reflected the innocence of life, still i feel close to all of you and you are all in my prayers. permit me to express my sentiments in the lyrics of your own song. america, america, god shed his grace on thee. and crown thy -- >> following the airport ceremony the pope was whisked through the streets of washington to the cheers of tens of thousands of admirers. >>> in 2008, pope benedict xvi flew his plane shepherd i to washington, d.c. even before he landed he began to speak on one o